"The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman

I read Thomas Friedman's best seller The World is Flat early this year. The book was recommended to me by Al Erisman, the Executive Director at the Institute for Business, Technology, and Ethics (www.ethix.org).

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. For me it was a fascinating read and greatly affected my perspective on business and technology.

Friedman describes flattening as the world becoming smaller and more connected through events and technology and as a result "creating a new global playing field for multiple forms of collaboration". He details 10 "flatteners" and three convergences that have occurred to make the world flat. He describes the convergence as the "triple convergence--of new players, on a new playing field, developing new processes and habits for horizontal collaboration."

Although one can see "flattening" happening around us in so many ways Friedman does an extraordinary job of synthesizing complex trends and developments; social, economic, political, and technical. Many have disagreed with Friedman's analysis of the benefits of flattening but he does make you realize the immediate and future potential impact that this phenomenon is having. In addition, his descriptions of things like Dell's manufacturing process, Wall Mart's inventory management, Bangalore call centers, and McDonald's program for virtual order taker are truly mind changing.

A few thoughts about the book:

• Strong Business Perspective. Both from a social change and a technology standpoint this is a very business centric analysis. IMHO, Friedman gives way too much credit to tech companies like Microsoft, Netscape, IBM, etc ("flatteners") and not nearly enough to the academics, scientists, NGOs, governments and others that have furthered the Internet and effected social change.


• Weak Government Role. I consider myself to be a centrist with regard to "free market economy" and Friedman admits to being very much a believer in the unrestricted marketplace. I was not convinced by his explanation for how everything will work out on the global stage and specifically how smaller businesses and workers within our own country fare. He does offer ideas on how our work force can stay educated, have some safeguards (insurance), and stay competitive. This is done in part through government programs according to Friedman.
• Social Responsibility and Ethics. While he does touch on these topics I don’t think he devotes enough time or makes a strong enough case for how we 1) ensure ethical corporate behavior, and 2) hold global businesses responsible for their impact on the environment and communities where they operate. Not to mention the fact that, as Jared Diamond points out in his book Collapse, if China realizes the American Dream, as Friedman feels they should, and becomes as big a consumer and polluter as the US the earth’s resources and environment will simply not support it.

All that said, I think it’s a marvelous piece of work. The World is Flat is truly a thought provoking and educational read even if you don’t agree with all of Mr. Friedman's premises and conclusions. The scary part for me is how flattening will impact our kids in how and who they will be competing with in the decades ahead.

Friedman, Thomas L. The World is Flat. New York: Farrar, Straus and Gioux, 2005. http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/worldisflat.htm